Guilty
by Sebastian the Mercat
Summary: He's just a kid. But then again...so was Chloe.


**_Salutations dearies! Look, another sad and angsty fic! How wonderful! *cries*_**

 ** _Warnings: I know nothing about how laws and shit work...so take what I say with a grain of salt, implied major character death, abuse, implied assisted suicide (i guess? you'll just have to see for yourself._**

 ** _Important Note: This was written after the release of episode 5. This follows the "sacrifice Chloe" ending._**

"He's going to try for a plea deal."

"I don't care if he does or not! We're not going for the death penalty."

"He's going to enter a plea deal - if we go for the maximum, he will at least get something instead of getting off Scott-free!"

"David, he's just a kid!"

"So was Chloe!"

Silence filled Joyce and David Madsen's bedroom. Slowly, Joyce turned from the mirror on her bureau, her watery eyes meeting her husband's solemn ones. He glanced down guiltily, the aching in his heart (that had become a common thing, as of late) only growing more pronounced at her distress.

"So was Chloe..." David whispered, sitting on the edge of their bed. He rested his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands. "God, Joyce...she was just a kid..."

Joyce squeezed her eyes shut. They ached with need to shed tears - tears that been falling almost constantly since the day she received that call. She usually let them fall, succumbing to the pain and darkness and despair wracking her heart.

That day, however, two long weeks later, she refused to let her tears fall. She had spent extra time on her makeup and hair and had ironed the black dress she now wore to creased perfection. She had even made sure David had shaved the stubble on his chin, had his suit dry-cleaned, and polished his shoes herself late the previous night. They looked sharp, strong, unmoving, like the lighthouse that governed Arcadia Bay.

That particular day, you see, was the first day they would be facing their daughter's murderer.

"David..." Joyce whispered. "I...miss Chloe too. More than my heart can bear. But...on the off chance the Prescotts don't try to worm their way out of this one..."

David's face lost the despair that had briefly been on it. He stood, straightening his tie as his face took on an angry expression. "They will. I know them - they act all high and mighty, but they're lower than dirt. They're certainly not afraid of playing dirty."

Joyce furrowed her brow, before sighing. "I...know. I've dealt with them as well. Including...him..."

"Then you know-"

"-that he needs _help._ He is young, misguided...every time he has ever came into the diner, he always has looked lost...I've even seen him come in with bruises sometimes. This boy...he has been hurt and abused and manipulated his entire life. Not to mention his rather dubious mental health-"

David snorted. "He's a _murderer_ , Joyce. He _killed_ Chloe."

Joyce fell silent.

David fiddled with his tie once more, before coming over to hug his wife. She sniffed slightly, causing David's expression to soften, his eyes closing.

"He deserves punishment, Joyce. That's all he deserves."

OoO

The courtroom was small, but the entire room was packed, causing the usually cool room to feel stiflingly hot. Many Blackwell students had arrived at the hearing - half of them were friends of Chloe's or Rachel's, and desired to see their friends' murderer punished; the other half hated Nathan in general, just wanting him to suffer.

The rest of the room was filled with anyone who was anyone in Arcadia Bay, not to mention beyond. The Prescotts had s big name, after all.

Joyce and David sat beside their lawyer, with Max Caulfield sitting directly behind, along with Kate Marsh and Warren Graham. They all chatted idly, but the tense electricity in the room was prevalent. Max seemed especially on edge, continuously glancing at the door Nathan was to be coming through at any moment, a strange expression on her face. If Joyce wasn't mistaken, her face was sad, and maybe a bit concerned. But...why? Was it for him, for Nathan?

Joyce didn't want to look too deeply into that.

Suddenly, the small wooden door off to the side banged open, and the room erupted into silence.

Nathan Prescott was lead into the room by a pair of hulking officers that towered nearly a foot above the boy. He wore a too-big tan shirt with pants to match, his feet and hands in shackles. His face was downturned, and his hair (not having been slicked back), fell in waves in front of his face. In spite of that, it was obvious that the boy appeared more sickly than he had the last time Joyce had seem him.

He was lead over to the table across the isle from Joyce and David's, and was (rather roughly) pushed down into the metal chair between his father and his lawyer. Joyce felt David's arm settle firmly around her shoulder, his hand squeezing slightly. She hadn't realized how fiercely she had been glaring at the group.

She turned her head to face the judge as his gavel struck his lectern. Joyce forced herself to breath in and out. She didn't have to do anything, to say anything. Their lawyer would handle everything, for which she was grateful. In her current state, with Chloe's death still causing such pain in her heart in combination with being in the same room as Chloe's murderer...Joyce truly wasn't sure WHAT would come out of her mouth.

"My clients and I are in agreement - the defendant, Nathan Prescott should receive the maximum sentence allowed in the state of Oregon," Joyce jolted, as her lawyer spoke. She really needed to stop spacing out.

The judge nodded. "Just to clarify, you and your clients are pushing for the death penalty?"

Their lawyer nodded. "Yes, your honor."

Gasps came from the courtroom, people looking at each other in shock, whispering urgently. David pulled Joyce closer.

"Don't mind them," he whispered. "We're making the right choice. You'll see."

Joyce nodded, glancing over at Nathan Prescott's table. His lawyer was leaning in, talking urgently with the boy, and Sean Prescott was doing the same - Nathan, however, had his head bowed, seemingly staring at his chained hands. Seemingly growing frustrated with his son's lack of attention, Sean cuffed him on the side of the head.

Nathan flinched, hunching his shoulders more.

"Order to the court," the Judge called, bringing silence to the room once more - siding from Nathan's lawyer's hushed whispers.

Turning to look at Nathan, the judge spoke once more. "How would you like to plead, Mr Prescott?"

Sean Prescott immediately opened his mouth, but Nathan interrupted whatever he was about to say, by climbing to his feet. With eyes trained on the ground, his shoulders quivering slightly, Nathan spoke the one word that would cause the courtroom to erupt.

"Guilty."

"Order!" the judge called loudly, over the noise. However, people were talking loudly, practically yelling at the top of their lungs.

Neither David or Joyce knew what they were saying, though, as it all seemed like white noise to them.

It took several bangs of the judge's gavel to get the court to quiet down. Nathan had remained standing in the same position throughout the ordeal, in spite of his father and lawyer yelling at him. As soon as the gavel fell the last time, Sean Prescott grabbed ahold of the chain linking Nathan's hands together, brutally jerking it downwards so that Nathan fell back into his seat.

"Your honor!" Sean snapped, "My son's plea cannot be taken seriously. He suffers from severe mental illness and is incapable of making choices on his own-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Nathan growled, tilting his head up slightly.

The entire courtroom was silenced once more with a sound - however, it was the sound of Sean Prescott's hand coming in contact with his son's cheek, instead of the gavel landing on the lectern.

Sean cleared his throat, straightening his tie as he awkwardly glanced around. Nathan's cuffed hands came up to cradle his cheek, as, once more, Sean turned to face the judge.

"Your honor," he said calmly. "Clearly, his lack of control when addressing me proves-"

"Mr. Prescott, you would do well to sit down," the judge said, his voice icy.

Sean looked like he was about to speak further, but his lawyer touched his arm, shaking his head minutely. Sean let out an exaggerated sigh, sinking back down into his seat.

The silence enveloping the courtroom was absolute. Joyce leaned forward in her chair, slightly, glancing sideways at Nathan. He was curled up slightly on his seat, hands shielding his wounded cheek. He looked so small.

Joyce sat back, closing her eyes. She had decided, that morning, that she was okay with David's decision, in calling for the death sentence. Even if it did turn out that Nathan ended up dead because of it, she would have been fine.

But...then...the Nathan she was picturing in her mind was the loud, rude boy that came into her diner. The boy David talked about, that lacked impulse control, that was violent and vulgar. The boy that had the last name Prescott.

And perhaps he was all those things - indeed, he was. But he was also a boy, a young man, that had spent his entire life being abused and manipulated by those he was supposed to trust. He was a boy that had never gotten the help he needed for his mental illness. He was a boy that had probably never known a kind word, let alone a gentle touch. He was a boy that rounded his shoulders at a raised hand, a boy that shook when someone rose their voice.

Above all, he was just a boy.

"Nathan," the judge addressed the boy, the tone of his voice surprisingly gentle, "You...realize what you pleading guilty would mean-"

"Yes," Nathan said quietly, his voice quiet.

The judge looked distinctly uncomfortable, unsure as to how he was supposed to proceed. He glanced over the gathered crowd, at the variety of emotions on their faces. Taking a deep breath, the judge lifted his gavel, bringing it down on the lectern one final time. "Then...it is settled. Nathan Joshua Prescott will be...sentenced to death in one week's time. Case...dismissed..."

The courtroom didn't cheer, not one person moved. Even the judge didn't move from his seat, in spite of his own words declaring the case through. The only ones that moved were Sean Prescott and his lawyer, both of whom stalked from the room, leaving Nathan alone at his table.

"Now...Nathan..." the judge found himself speaking, "I...have to ask..."

Nathan, for the first time, lifted his head, his watery blue eyes focusing on the judge through his veil of hair. "I...to say I was anything but guilty would have been a lie...and...I don't want to lie anymore." He took a deep shuddering breath, his hands shifting slightly on the table, causing the chain to jangle. Harsh red lines were on his wrist from where Sean had jerked the chain. "I...never wanted to hurt anyone, not Rachel, not Kate, not Chloe...I never wanted to hurt anyone...but...I did." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I...did...and nothing will ever change that. Not for Chloe, not for them," he nodded towards Joyce, David, and all of Chloe's friends, "and...certainly not for me..."

Slowly, Nathan turned in his seat, revealing the painful bruise his father had inflicted upon him to everyone. Joyce gasped quietly, a hand flitting up to her mouth at the brutality of the mark - from the bleeding scratch that was there as well, it was obvious Sean had been wearing a ring.

"For what it's worth..." Nathan whispered, bowing his head once more, "I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry..."

Before another word could be uttered, the two men who had escorted Nathan in grabbed ahold of his arms, jerking him to his feet, yanking him through the door he had initially entered through.

And then it was over.

 ** _A/N Ooookay. I need to write some pointless smut now that I've killed off Nathan a sufficient amount of times (I swear, I love this child)._**

 ** _Anyway, thank you so much for reading! Leave a review if you so desire!_**


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